Youthful Purpose
by PhunkyNinja
Summary: One Shot- Rock Lee is 18 and has become a fully fledged jounin, however after an a mission he questions his life…  Slight Rock LeexSakura


Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Summary

One Shot- Rock Lee is 18 and has become a fully fledged jounin, however after an a mission he questions his life… (Slight Rock LeexSakura)

Youthful Purpose

It was a summer's morning, the orange sun was rising behind the stone faces of Konoha revealing not only the strength but gentility hidden in the faces that could only be seen at this time. The villagers slept within this bask of light missing the morning beauty, however one lonely ninja was not. Instead he sat in a shadow of a tree, with a face that showed great sadness, it was Rock Lee, sitting with his cold hands hugging his knees, something that he had been doing a lot lately.

"What do I do?, I'm lost" he thought.

_Flashback_

"_Well done Lee!" shouted Sakura, along with all the other jounin, following afterwards with a cheeky kiss on the cheek causing him to turn into the colour of a beetroot. _

"_Now that you're a jounin, you'll have a lot more missions…" spoke Tsunade, however he wasn't paying attention, he was too focused on all the smiling faces that he had received from his friends. A warm and fuzzy feeling arose in his stomach made him feel like he was on top of the world. He was so overjoyed that he didn't notice a tear roll down his cheek. A moment after he wiped the tear from his face and fixed his eyes back on Tsunade. No one seemed to notice, except Sakura. A smile grew on her face and her cheeks blushed a tint of pink, which she was wonderfully surprised at. _

"…_and furthermore you'll need to keep on your paperwork on missions, got it?", "Yes Hokage- sama." _

_Whilst on a mission a few months later, Lee had come across a farming family who had allowed his team to stay for the night. The family were decent enough, supplying the team with food and water, allowing them to sleep in a barn, however Gai insisted upon each person standing on patrol. During Lee's shift, he heard the family shouting. Standing his ground, Lee tried to block out the fierce shouts and banging noises, however the words ringed in his ears like the fast beatings of a drum. Eventually he had had enough and decided to end the shouting. He stormed towards the house, reaching the door he raised his fist to door when suddenly… _

"_NO! Why should I be stuck doing the same thing everyday for the rest of my life?" _

_Lee couldn't help but to listen to what the young boy had to say. He pressed his ear towards the door almost desperate to hear the boy's words. _

"_I don't want to be a farmer if it means doing the same things everyday until I died." _

"_Is it because you are ashamed?" spoke the father, his voice full of disappointment._

"_No, I'm very proud to be your son and I love helping out around the farm" _

_Lee had become confused, "why would he not stay if he loves his home?" Lee tried to press his ear closer to the door, he had to know why._

"_Then why!" His father shouted._

"_Because a life that is that repetitive is something I don't want, why would anyone want that? Surely you didn't grow up wanting to feed the chickens everyday!"_

"_Repetitive?" Lee wondered._

"_I mean even those ninja's do the same thing everyday!, well to an extent, they just save people and fill in reports and save people, I mean it may sound exciting but in the end it is just routine and duty, I mean what's the point in all that?"_

_Lee stumbled back from the door, not believing what he had just heard._

"_Is that true? Is my life routine? Repetitive?" He walked towards the barn, the shouting continued but he didn't pay attention. He was filled with confusion and sadness, his head was dropped to the floor and his hands in his pockets, he couldn't concentrate on anything else. During the rest of his shift he pondered on the boy's words, trying to find some answers._

_End of flashback_

As the sun continued to rise above the stone faces Lee didn't move. Repeating the situation over and over again in his head trying to find an answer.

"Why do I continue to fight over and over again? To what end!" His head fell to his knees, as if his life had been taken from him.

"We protect the village and save the innocent, but is it? Surely there must be more!" The frustration he felt began to rise causing his fist to fly straight into the ground disturbing the soft grass beneath him. Tears started to fall, causing a glistening clear surface to build upon his cheeks.

Through the silence that now echoed through the trees, small soft paces headed towards Lee, however he couldn't hear for his mind was elsewhere.

"Lee?" He looked up at the blurred figure due to his tear drenched eyes, as he wiped his eyes he saw the pink hair and slim figure.

"Sakura!, oh hi, why are you up so early?"

"Lee what's wrong? Why were you crying? She spoke with a worry look in her eye. Lee saw this a feeling in his stomach told him not to lie. Lee looked down, almost ashamed of what he was going to say.

"Sakura, why do you fight? Why are you a ninja?"

"Heyy! What are you-" Sakura looked into his eyes and was taken back by what she saw: sadness.

"Well, to protect my family and friends and the village of course" She said with a smile, but her smile failed to receive one back.

"But what else? Is that all that our lives are, to fight and die?" His face dropped, feeling as if he knew that she could say nothing.

Silence fell between them, she was surprised at what he was saying. She stood over him, wondering what to say. But, nothing. Sakura's body began to move of it's own accord, draping her arms around him to bring him closer into a hug. The distance between them closing. He was shocked by what had just happened, she was shocked by what she did. A tear grew in his eyes and fell down his face, but he didn't mind. His arms lifted to return the beautiful gesture. In this embrace his mind felt at peace, warm emotion arose within him. Memories flashed through his mind; His friends, his sensei, his love for Sakura. Then, as if he was hit by a brick, the answer dawned on him. His eyes widen as the answer stared at him in the face.

"I'll be as repetitive as I can, for her."


End file.
